Northpark, Sprinkles, and a Half Finished Class!

Wow.....I am really proud that I am actually blogging when I said I would! That is pretty amazing! I just came home from Maggiano's with my little sister Megan and then we went to Sprinkles for the 1st time and I must say that now I know why everyone talks about those cupcakes...they are AMAZING! I got peanut butter chocolate chip and lemon. It was great spending time with my sister since it seems we never have the chance anymore, it was nice! It was easy to get back to our usual silly selves as you can see...

Well thanks to my sweet mother in law, I was able to get a lot done in my class. She watched the kids so that Joey could come help me and boy did he! I never knew that he was so good at doing bulletin boards....he is a perfectionist so that was nice to have someone like that helping out. I still have some things to put up but with dual language there is a lot of student generated things so the walls will fill up with time. As you can tell I LOVE owls, I have liked them for a couple of years now and it just so happens they are popular now so it was easy to find stuff.

Last week we went to Northpark, one of our favorite and most visited places. We just love it because they have such neat stores and you can go even if you don't want to spend a lot of money and you still have a good time. Plus Joey loves leaving gospel tracks out. Grayson loved seeing the fountains and Ella enjoyed ....sleeping!!

She opened her eyes for like 10 minutes...usually our Sleeping Beauty!

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet Grayson taking a swim the next day! (I love this pic because he still looks like my baby!)

Well Ella has an appointment this week so I will definitely post and let you know how that goes and what her stats are. We hope to take Grayson to either a drive in movie or the airplane museum this week so I will make sure to post pics from that! I am on a roll....let's see if I keep going! :)

Oh No Summer Vacation.....where did you go?

It has been almost a month since I have blogged. It has been quite hectic the past few weeks. I am officially going to teach 1st grade dual language at Rhea and I have had a lot of intense training for the program. I am really excited but it has been a rascal getting a classroom together since I gave ALL of my teaching stuff AWAY! It's okay though because if an elementary counseling job comes up and I get that I don't want to spend a lot this year on stuff since I don't know how long I will do it. I hope to work in my class all day Thursday so I will definitely post pictures then! Also, Lauren and Dusty got married and had a beautiful wedding...we are so excited for them!

Now to those 2 sweet little ones.....Grayson and Ella!! Grayson has really been enjoying the summer with us and his potty training is pretty good. We just need to work on the harder part of the two.....(you get my drift!) He is so ready to go back to daycare, though. He keeps asking, "Mommy, I go to school with Ms. Holly and friends?" As a working mom, it makes you feel sad sometimes to have to bring your kids to daycare but when I see how happy he is there and how much he misses it, it makes me feel so much better. That boy is just ready for school, he went to Aunt Lala's class with me and Nana to help Lauren with her new Kindergarten class and he simply loved it! I hope he still feels that way in 3 years! 

Ella is doing great, today she is 5 weeks and 4 days. She is so precious and she is a very sweet baby. She wakes up quite a bit at night but we have figured out that it is probably her stomach and the formula she takes. I am also giving her breastmilk but I can't keep up with how much she wants so we do about 30% breastmilk and 70% formula with her. We tried soy last night and we will see how it goes. Other than that, she is great and is growing so much. Grayson is also warming up to her a lot more. He always wants to giver her the pacifier and he rubs her little hands and gives her tiny toes kisses. It is so sweet to see!

Well, hopefully I will be blogging a lot more over the next 2 weeks because I know we have some fun filled activities coming up! See you then....

Grayson visiting Aunt Lala's class....she even made him a name tag to wear!

Mommy and Ella (2 weeks)

Joey and I at the rehearsal being silly

Grayson (ringbearer) and Riley (flower girl)

Ella (4 weeks)

Ella Grace (5 weeks)

Bridesmaids with Lauren at Rehearsal

Bath Time and The Fourth of July

Our Fourth of July was very laid back this year, we really did nothing which was kind of nice. We did miss being with family and friends, eating yummy grilled food, and seeing fireworks but the fact that there was rain made me feel not as bad as if we weren't missing out on too much. It's just too early for Ella to be out although we will be venturing out to Frisco this Thursday and Friday with her for Lauren's wedding. Below I have some pics of Grayson and Ella in their Fourth of July outfits...I wish I could have gotten them together but Grayson is still adjusting to being "calm" around Ella.

Ella ready to go.....well we just went to the store and only I went in....

Me and my kiddos (that's so neat!)...Joey is always taking the pictures, hopefully I can get him in some...


Tonight, I gave Ella her first bath and Grayson just his nightly bath. Ella did not seem to enjoy it as much as Grayson but she did pass out once I got her dressed and cozy! Maybe that will be the trick to get her to sleep at night. Now, Grayson on the other hand gets energetic but it may be the ice cream I gave him before his bath.......

Ella Grace is here!!!

I have been meaning to post sooner but things have been a bit crazy with bringing a newborn home when you have an energetic almost 3 year old! Ella Grace was born June 24th (our anniversary) at 8:02 a.m. She weighed 10lbs and 5 oz and 21 inches long. She is just wonderful and we love her. She looks a lot like Grayson to me! She is precious and Grayson loves being a big brother to her. She is definitely reminding us what it's like to have a newborn again with the sleepless nights but we are so thankful for the blessing of an addition to our family! We just love her! Here are some pics from the hospital and a comparison of Grayson and Ella around the same age!

Happy Anniversary and Maybe a Birthday!

Tonight I will be going in to the hospital to be induced and we are so excited! But since I will be in the hospital, I wanted to post this today! Tomorrow, June 24th, will be our 4th wedding anniversary. I can't believe 4 years of marriage have already passed by. They have been amazing. I think I am a bit emotional over this anniversary for a couple of reasons. #1 I am pregnant...enough said! :) and #2 My sister in law will be getting married in less than 3 weeks. I will miss her since she is moving a while away but I am more emotional/excited about the journey her and Dusty will be embarking on. It's not only that I think they are a sweet couple but it makes me think of when Joey and I started out 4 years ago. I remember being so nervous and scared yet excited going away on a honeymoon just me and him and then moving into OUR house just me and him. It was surreal. I remember it being tough because I was starting my first year teaching, starting grad school, getting our new house together, and he was in college full time. (and 6 months later we got pregnant with Grayson!) It was a whirlwind experience but it is amazing to see how much we have grown and how strong our marriage has become. I am excited for Dusty and Lauren to experience that.
But these 4 years have been THE MOST AMAZING 4 years of my life. (Of course, I am going to start crying now...lol!) Joey is an absolute answer to all my prayers of what I had wanted in a guy. I had a prayer journal through high school ( I still have it to this day) and inside I was writing about what kind of guy I wanted, here were the top qualities I prayed for:
1. A Guy Who Loves The Lord
2. Dimples
3. A Musician
4. Classic Style

As humorous as it may seem, God blessed with all of that and more in Joey. He is loving, caring, sweet, thoughtful, and always makes me feel safe. I can talk to him about anything and knows he understands and listens. I am never afraid to speak my mind in fear of what he will think. He is an amazing leader for our family and brings us closer to God each day. He is a wonderful father to Grayson and I know he will be the same to Ella. So HAPPY 4th ANNIVERSARY, Joey. I love you so much and thank you for being my rock and still remembering to do the little sweet things. I look forward to may more years to come!

Oh and I will definitely blog when we get that baby Ella home! I am so excited to see her face and even more excited to see how our sweet Grayson will react!

Whoa....2 Kids?!?!?

As my stomach gets even bigger and my nights are becoming sleepless, it is becoming more and more real to me that Joey and I will be parents of 2 kids...wow...with an s at the end. It is crazy! I talk about Ella each day but it still hasn't truly hit me or Joey either. I am not sure if that's how it is with your 2nd or what. We are so excited about welcoming our little girl into the world and Grayson is so excited to be a big brother. He always brings toys to my stomach and says, "Her you go, Ella!" What a sweet big brother already, now let's hope it stays that way when she comes out!

Tomorrow will be my last dr.'s appointment...Yipppeee! I am so excited that I won't be traveling to downtown Dallas every week anymore! Next week will be my last trip to Dallas (Baylor) when I am induced IF she doe not come earlier. But the way things are....I bet I will have to wait until the 24th. It's only a week and 2 days away so its not too bad, I am just tired of people asking if I am having twins! :(

This is Joey and Grayson's official 2nd week of summer break and my first. I was actually supposed to work this week (it would have been my last) but my doctor put me on bed rest at last week's visit due to excessive swelling. My legs and feet looked like an elephant's. I don't remember my pregnancy with Grayson being like this! Well back to summer break.....it has been so neat to see all the activities Joey has done with Grayson like joining the Rockwall Reading Club and building a Lego land with him. It's so neat to see how much their relationship is growing. I see how amazing of a father Joey is! I am truly blessed to have such a caring and sweet husband that loves being a Daddy!


Below are some pics of Grayson on Summer Break and a couple of Ella's room!

I hope the next time I blog, I will already be a mother of 2!!!


 We finally found a use for our formal living room!

Grayson said he wanted to go to school!

Big Summer Happenings!!

I can't believe how fast summer has gotten here! Tomorrow will be Joey's last day of work until August 16th and Grayson's last day of daycare. Unfortunately, I have to work until June 18th so they will have two weeks on me! Joey jokes that they are going to swim and party everyday! Ha! Ha!

Well I have had a wonderful year as a counselor. But with a lot of thought, I have decided to go back to teaching until an elementary counseling position in FORNEY opens up. I had some leads in Mesquite and a school interested but I have decided that I want to be where Joey and our kids will be. Plus, I know so many people in Forney and just love it. It is one of the best school districts I have ever seen. I had already signed my counseling contract for next year but fortunately they let me get out of it to sign a teaching contract at RHEA ELEMENTARY! I am so excited and I will be teaching 1st grade dual language and the best part is....Joey is the PE teacher there. It is such an amazing blessing to be able to work around the corner with my sweet hubby! I will continue to work on my LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor to have my own practice) next year so teaching will be a better fit for allowing me time to do that and be with my family, which is my number one goal.

Grayson has been doing great. We are struggling a bit with potty training but he is getting better. He will be 3 in September but I think the biggest problem for us has been that we are gone so much. Hopefully, since we have the summer together we can really hit that hard.*Mommies out there, if you have any tips, please leave them in the comment area! We would love to hear any ideas that worked for you. We would love to NOT have 2 in diapers! :)

Speaking of two, Ella will make her scheduled arrival June 24th, which is me and Joey's 4th wedding anniversary. She could come earlier but that is the date that I will be induced if not. They are estimating she will be 8 or 9 pounds. Grayson was 9lbs 2 oz, so I am used to big babies! I am really excited and I can't wait to see how Grayson will react to her. He has been practicing with stuffed animals and has done great! And I can't wait to see if she will look like me or like Joey! I was shocked to have a blonde hair, blue eyed baby being half asian.

I will post pics of Grayson from a couple of weeks ago and of Ella's room as soon as I can, so be on the lookout for those! :)